It is well-known in the art to provide protective garments tO personnel working in or near a radioactive environment, for example, to health care workers operating x-ray equipment or working in radiology laboratories. Generally, such radiation shield garments are extremely heavy because they include one or more layers of lead sheet material to provide the desired protection.
Prior art protective garments were designed and worn in such a way that most of the weight of the garment was supported by the wearer's shoulders and upper back leading to discomfort and excessive fatigue. One example of such a garment is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,025 to McCoy. This disadvantage of prior art protective garments led to efforts to shift the weight load to other parts of the wearer's body. Based on the technology of backpacks for hikers, which are designed to shift at least a portion of the weight to the user's waist and hips, Cusick et al. developed the idea for an elasticized support belt to be used in conjunction with protective garments, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,608. The aforementioned patents and the references cited therein are incorporated herein by reference.
As shown in FIGS. 1-5 of the Cusick et al. patent, the support belt is an integral part of and permanently attached to the protective garment (col.3, lines 37-39). Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 6-8, the Cusick et al. support belt is integral with the protective garment (col.4, lines 48-50). As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, however, the Cusick et al. support belt is detachably attached to the protective garment by snap buttons or, alternatively, "can be fixed to the garment by velcro, rivets, stitching etc." (col. 5, lines 13-17). The patent further teaches that: "Indeed, the belt need not be attached to the garment at all, but only fixed to itself when worn around the waist of the garment," (col. 5, lines 18-21).
But, the Cusick et al. patent does not teach how a separate, independent support belt that is not in some way attached to the protective garment during use could supply the necessary support to significantly reduce the weight load carried on the user's shoulders and upper back. It must be kept in mind that the function of the belt in Cusick et al. is not just to close the front of the garment and gather it about the waist, but rather to effectively shift a significant share of the weight of the garment to the wearer's waist and hips. As shown and described in Cusick et al., this weight shifting occurs because, when the belt is fastened around the user's waist substantially all of the weight of the garment below the user's waist is supported by the user's hips, and a substantial proportion of the weight of the garment above the waist is also supported by the user's hips. This support occurs, according to Cusick et al., precisely because of "the action of the belt in holding the garment firmly against the body" (col. 2, lines 19-24 ).
In other words, it is at the point of physical attachment between the belt and the garment that the bulk of the garment's weight is transferred from the user's shoulders to his waist. If the belt in the Cusick et al. invention is not physically attached in some way to the garment while in use, the garment would have a tendency by action of gravity to slide downward, slipping underneath the belt, until the bulk of the garment's weight was again being carried on the user's shoulders and back. Even if the belt of the Cusick et al. invention were tightened to the point of extreme user discomfort, there would still be a tendency for slippage with every user movement, especially during bending movements.
Accordingly, Cusick et al. does not teach any way to actually carry out the concept of a separate, independent support belt that does not need to be physically attached to the protective garment while in use. Furthermore, the elasticized belt described in Cusick et al. can be uncomfortable and unduly restrictive in use. The need to attach the belt to the garment requires attachment means on both the belt and the garment which increases manufacturing costs and prevents interchangeable use of the belt with other protective garments. The need for attachment means also increases the time required to put on and remove the support belt. These and other drawbacks of the prior art are overcome with the present invention.